The driver's possible suicide attempt may have caused the fatal
bus accident that killed 29 people in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Sunday, local police
said.
The death toll was formerly put at 30 due to wrong reports from
rescuers, local government sources said. Police has confirmed the
death toll to be 29.
On-the-spot investigations indicated that the driver had
intentionally attempted suicide, said police, without further
elaboration.
The accident occurred at around 2:00 Sunday afternoon, when a
fully loaded commuter bus heading for Jiangbei district was
approaching the on-ramp to the Shimen Bridge which connects the
areas of Jiangbei and Shapingba in downtown Chongqing.
The bus, which services route 711, ploughed through a bridge
guardrail and plunged 30 meters to the dry banks of the Jialing
River, a main tributary of the Yangtze River.
Twenty-nine people were killed and 21 others injured, including
11 who were seriously injured. All the injured were being treated
in hospital.
The bus belongs to Limin Taxi Co., Ltd. of the Chongqing
Municipal Highway Transportation Group, according to police.
An injured passenger said the bus was overcrowded as passengers
from another bus that had broken down were picked up by the
ill-fated bus.
Identities of the dead have not yet been released.
The Shapingba area, where the accident occurred, is home to a
number of colleges, including Chongqing University, Sichuan Foreign
Languages College and Southwest China University of Political
Science and Law.
The municipal government has established a task force to
investigate the accident. The municipal government also issued an
emergency notice, calling on government and transportation
departments to draw lessons from the accident and take effective
measures to straighten up transportation services to prevent
possible traffic accidents.
(Xinhua News Agency October 2, 2006)